Music career: 1983–1987 In 1983, Conway formed
My Bloody Valentine with
Kevin Shields and
Colm Ó Cíosóig. He performed vocals, originally under the pseudonym Dave Stelfox, and suggested the name of the band, which was taken from the 1981
Canadian slasher film of the same name. Shields later claimed he was unaware of the film when Conway suggested the name, which was chosen ahead of other potential band names including The Burning Peacocks. My Bloody Valentine experienced a number of line-up changes in their initial months and in 1984, Conway's girlfriend Tina Durkin was recruited as a keyboard player. On the suggestion of Shields, Conway contacted
Gavin Friday, lead vocalist of the
post-punk band
Virgin Prunes, for advice on succeeding on the Dublin music scene and was given a list of contacts to secure the band shows in
Tilburg,
Netherlands. The band emigrated to the Netherlands in early 1984 but due to a lack of correct documentation, they had to relocate again to
West Germany, where they released their debut
mini album,
This is Your Bloody Valentine, in January 1985. The album failed to receive much attention and the band returned temporarily to the Netherlands, before settling in
London, United Kingdom in the middle of 1985. Conway was featured on the band's debut
extended play (EP)
Geek! (1985) and the follow-up EP
The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (1986).
The New Record by My Bloody Valentine was the band's first minor success, peaking at number 22 on the
UK Independent Albums Chart upon its release. His final recording with My Bloody Valentine was the 1987 single "
Sunny Sundae Smile", which peaked at number 6 on the UK Independent Singles Chart and secured the band a support slot with
The Soup Dragons. In March 1987, after the final date of the tour, Conway announced his decision to leave the band, due to a gastric illness, disillusionment with music and ambitions to become a writer. He was replaced by
Bilinda Butcher.
Writing career: 1991–present During his time working various jobs in the late 1980s, Conway began writing. His short
horror fiction stories appeared in various Creation Books anthologies, including
Eloise featured in 1991's
Red Stains and
Black Static featured in 1994's
The Starry Wisdom: A Tribute to HP Lovecraft. In 1998,
Metal Sushi, a collection of his short
science fiction stories, was published by Oneiros Books. Critical reception to
Metal Sushi was positive and author Grant Morrison referred to Conway as "the most powerful and distinctive writer of horror fiction since
Clive Barker." In addition to his short stories, Conway contributed his writing to a number of
comic books, including
Vampirella for
Harris Comics,
Vampi for Anarchy Studio and
X-Men Unlimited for
Marvel Comics. In 2009, he self-published his debut novel,
Tokyo Gothic, on his own publishing company Radical Robot Books and
Double Dragon Publishing. He has since published further three novels:
Death Disco,
Kinky Kabuki and
Celebrity Bedlam. ==Bibliography==